With the Family
by Riyo Shiban
Summary: A series of Naruto characters talking with their beloved, their family. Drabble. Ch.5 Up! this chapter: Kakashi avoids work.
1. Puppets and Escapism

Noo! It isn't obvious, but, I'm a sand nin fan! w00t!

I'm having a love affair with these random conversation fics. They are just fun to wright, I guess. I never plan for them. I always write them on a whim.

BTW, This is post-Chunin exam and Pre-Save Sasuke in Naruto-time. It's just after lunch, and they are in Suna. Just so you know.

* * *

"Mom, What're the rosary beads for?" -Rory Gilmore, Gilmore Girls

* * *

Temari leaned back in a chair all her own, "People only want to hear lovely stories," she said, holding the latest edition of her literature magazine in her lap, "About lovely people."

Kankuro looked up from his newest puppet, "I know that."

"It's so boring." Temari opened a sugar candy and stuck it in her mouth, "I get tired of it."

Kankuro jabbed some poison into the dart-socket of his puppet's arm, "its escapism."

Temari raised an eyebrow.

Kankuro took this as an invitation to continue, "People are tired of being ugly and normal, so they read lovely stories to escape their normal lives."

"That's what the popular opinion is, eh?" Temari leaned back too far in her chair, and thus accidentally swallowed her sugar candy. She gagged a little bit, but was fine.

"There isn't a thing wrong with popular opinion." Kankuro held up a finger, emphasizing his point.

"True, It's just common."

"Oh, don't go all 'anti-conformist' on me! You became a ninja, just like everyone else in out whole family!" Kankuro waved one of his puppet's dismembered arm at his older sister.

Temari giggled at the sight of her brother brandishing his puppet's limbs in such a way, "Yes, I know. You can't very well be freakishly like everyone else in your family and still sprout non-conformism, but," Temari smiled in triumph, "It bothers me that you just quoted a paragraph out of Baki-Sensei's physiology journal, really!"

Kankuro stifled.

"Where you the one who stole that boring old thing? _Really?" _Temari laughed, "He's still looking for that thing, y'know!"

"Hey! I'm not the one who took it!" Kankuro yelled, "Just because I read it doesn't mean I stole it!"

"Sure!" Temari rolled her eyes, "_Whatever you say_!"

"Whatever!" Kankuro stood up, "I'm gonna test out my new puppet now!"

"Okay, you kleptomaniac," Temari nodded, "I'll spar with you."

The two of them got up slowly and walked out the door.

Gaara turned the corner, walking quickly into the room his two older siblings had just existed within moments ago. Slowly and carefully, he pulled a _certain_ physiology journal out of his jacket and continued to read. He then grabbed one of Temari's candies and walked quickly back to his room.

* * *

Did you think Gaara was gonna show up? Well, because I love Gaara more than any other Naruto character excluding Hinata-sama, He was gonna show up weather you like it or not.

_**Review or Gaara will squish you! You don't wanna be squished, do you?**_


	2. Covered in Mist

I love Haku. He is my third favorite character. This takes place before the met Naruto. Maybe a year before...?

**Japanese guide:**

**-san:** An informal but respectful horrific. Sometimes translated to Mr. or Ms.

-**sama:** a level above '-san'. It is uber respectful. It means that the speaker is less important than the spoken to.

**Hai:** Yes!

**Mizukage**: Like Hokage, but for Hiding-in-mist

...Okay... yeah, we're good!

* * *

"Z-Zabuza, sir!" Haku, Third book, Viz translation. (That might not be accurate, I'm to lazy to check right now.)

* * *

Haku walked through a, no, _the _forest clearing. The clearing, or as Zabuza liked to call it, 'Haku's Official Training Grounds', was covered in mist. Haku continued to walk. To the left, under a large willow, panting, was Momochi Zabuza.

"Momochi-san, let me dress your wounds." Haku bent down, bandages in hand.

"After training." said Zabuza, "And don't call me Momochi any more. The Mizukage used to call me that."

"Sorry, Zabuza-san."

Zabuza lifted a non-existent eyebrow, "Call me Zabuza-sama."

"Hai, Zabuza-sama" Haku nodded quickly.

"I was kidding! Geez!" Zabuza picked up his headband, which had fallen off during training, "Have a sense of humor, will you?"

Haku though of saying how Zabuza had said it very seriously, and it wasn't funny anyway. He decided against that line of action, "Sorry, Zabuza-san"

Zabuza had another idea, "You're annoying."

"So they tell me, Zabuza-san" Haku pulled off his mask. It was becoming hard to talk with it on. He thought about getting a new one. Or fixing the straps. Or _something_.

Zabuza starred pointedly at Haku.

Haku was confused. More to the point, he looked it.

"You where _suppose_ to say something snotty to that, it _was_ an insult, you know." Zabuza said.

"Um..." Haku racked his brain. What had he seen spoiled kids do? "Uh, Am not!" Haku paused, "You bastard!" He added for quick emphasis.

"We need to buy you a personality." Zabuza rolled his eyes.

Haku looked worried. And confused. Again.

"…?"

Haku continued to stare.

"...But that was a good try?" Zabuza looked bewildered.

Haku beamed, almost childishly.

"...Okay..." Zabuza nodded, "I'm gonna go train now." He jumped into a tree in a very ninja-like way.

Haku watched with admiration uncharacteristic to most assassins.

"...It takes," Zabuza pretended to count, "Two people to spar, Haku."

Haku noticed the lack of a horrific at the end of his name. He noticed, but did not care. He was overjoyed by the invitation.

Zabuza sighed. It was so easy to make this kid happy. The odd thing was, though, that Zabuza didn't feel like he was manipulating him any more.

Both of them started to spar with each other in the clearing, covered in mist.

* * *

I hope you like it. heh...written durring a thunder storm, just so you know. A thunder storm at 10:05 in the morning. Weird, huh?

_**Review or Haku will preform the Ninja-Shiatsu-Dance-Of-DEATH!**_


	3. Locked Out

Incest is bad. Unless you're a ninja. No, no! I'm just kiddning! I always hated NejiXHinata fics.

'till I read one.

It was funny and sweet, and because Hinata is my favorite character in the whole series, very satisfying.

But I still won't write a NejiXHinata fic. I will, however, write a Neji/Hinata **FRENDSHIP** fic. And that's what this is.

Also, I know, I know, In Japan when a boy and a girl sit under the same umbrella it means that they're dating, I know! But, because Naruto does **NOT** take place in Japan, but in some alternate universe, I'm gonna use that loop hole and some of my Poetic license points, of witch I have only used twice, counting now, and make you all forget I ever said that. In this chapter, at least, Neji and Hinata are NOT dating.

But, on a more important note:

Have you read Harry potter and the half blood prince yet?

You haven't?

Freak.

BTW, this is also post-chunin exam and pre-save Sasuke.

* * *

"Well, a thousand scattered pictures laying on my bedroom floor,

reminds me of the times we shared,

makes me wish that you where here,

and now it seems I've forgotten my purpose in this life..." -Scattered, By Greenday

* * *

The Hyuuga estate was enormous. It had four ten-foot walls surrounding it. The walls had only one door, for both branch and main families. The door closed for the next six hours after ten PM, a security measure that never worked, but always managed to piss someone off. 

"Damn Gai-sensei." Hyuuga Neji mumbled from the outside of the wall. His time-keeper read twelve of eleven, "This could not get any worse!"

Because the world is not only ruled by physics, but Irony too, it began to rain.

Neji's flamboyant curses where drowned out by the splashes of many puddles.

"N-Neji-nii-san?" said a very quiet voice behind him.

"WHAT, HINATA-SAMA!" Neji yelled.

"eep!" Hinata fell backwards. She had always been easy to surprise.

"Ahh! Sorry!" Neji helped her up. She was now soaked. She had fallen into a puddle and dropped her pink umbrella.

"Neji-nii-san, a-are you locked out too?" Hinata held her umbrella over the both of them.

"Yeah. Gai-sensei kept us training late."

"Oh." The Hyuuga heir nodded.

"Why are you out late?" Neji thought for a moment, "Where you stalking Uzumaki-san again?"

"N-no!" But the blush on her face told Neji differently.

"You know, you're from the main family, you could probably get past the guards." Neji scooted a little closer to Hinata because rain was splashing on his nose.

Hinata shook her head, as to say she had already tried. Neji sighed. Another sign of how her own father had abandoned her.

Neji looked to the shivering Hinata. She didn't say anything, but she wasn't wearing her coat today. She must have been freezing.

Neji unbuttoned his coat and placed it on the shivering girl's shoulders.

Hinata freaked, "N-no! Neji-nii-san! You'll freeze!"

Neji used his Branch-house-excuse, "I'm a branch house member. It's my job to protect the main house. You are gonna get ammonia soon, so It's my job to make sure you don't."

"N-no! Neji-nii-san, I-"

"And I'm holding that damn umbrella!" Neji took it from her very gently for someone pretending to be angry, "you get shivering and shaking the thing! I'm getting all wet!"

"S-sorry, Neji-nii-san." Hinata said, deflated.

Neji stifled. Had he been too hard on her? He was just joking. But, of course, last year he had almost killed her. Sure, Uzumaki-san had killed him back, which was embarrassing _and_ a retribution, but Hinata had still suffered.

Neji thought silently to himself, '_is she still afraid of me? Wait, of course she is! I almost killed her! She almost died! And here I am still talking about the main and branch families._'

"Hinata-sama, I-"

"Oi! Oi!" Inuzuka Kiba came running out of the near by forest, a red umbrella in hand. "Hinata-chan! K-" Kiba slipped and fell on his face.

"Ah! Kiba-kun!" Hinata ran over to help him up.

"Ehh...oops!" Kiba stood, hiding Hinata under his umbrella, "K-Kurenai-sensei saw you in the rain. You got locked outta the estate again, huh?"

Hinata nodded.

"Well, Shino sent me." Kiba nodded in triumph "He says you can stay the night at his house if you want."

"O-oh!" Hinata looked surprised.

"And- ...who's that?" Kiba looked up, pointing.

"Neji-nii-san." Hinata answered.

"You mean that bastard who" Kiba took off running towards Neji, his fist ready, leaving Hinata with his umbrella, "you fought at the Chunin exam?"

Neji stepped backwards and snapped Hinata's umbrella closed. Using it like a sword, he slipped it under Kiba's legs, causing him to fall into a particularly large puddle. Neji then placed the umbrella in Hinata's hands and walked away.

"N-Neji-nii-san-!" Hinata yelled after him, but Neji was already gone.

Neji, about thirteen yards away by now, was traveling in the direction of Lee's house. Neji could stay at Lee's until it stopped raining.

Though, for all of that, he felt ashamed. He had forgotten what he had done to Hinata, even when she herself could not.

He did not deserve her forgiveness.

So he walked away.

* * *

…oooooooh… 

This one wasn't as happy as the last two. Sorry. I'm having a lot of fun writing this fic! Whaaaa! This fic needs more reviews, though! It only has four! This makes me sad. But I shall not whine any longer! No! I'll just reread Harry Potter and the Half-Blood Prince. I finished it in 34 hours! W00t!

(_walks away, dizzy_)

_**Review or Neji will burp the alphabet! I've seen him do it, I know he will!**_


	4. A Little Plastic Box

I realized I forgot to answer reviews on my last two few chapters. Oops! I'll start now!

**Hyourinmaru**Yes, It IS sad that this is my THIRD most popular story and I have only SEVEN reviews! _But I'm not complaining_. Your review gave me an idea! I'll see if my idea works out! O_hohohohohohoho_!**  
Warfles:** Four hours? Yosh. It took me longer than that, but I rounded to the next hour and stuff. I'm gonna pace myself on the next one. The last one, _(Cries)_  
**agent spielplatz** Thank you! I thought Zabuza was out of character, myself, but we never saw too much of him, so I don't know. Poetic license, I guess. I use way too much of that stuff...

Okay! Go!

Note, Sobayaki is fryed buckwheat noodles with carrots and other vegetables. It's really good. You can stuff it in the fridge and reheat it, thus you can eat it any time of day.

By the way, this is Post Zabuza and Pre chunin in Naruto time.

* * *

"...Come spit on bridges with me,..." -Nobody Puts Baby In The Corner, By Fall Out Boy.

* * *

Iruka was having a dream. He was a dolphin, and he was talking to a scarecrow, and the frog who they where playing cards with kept poking him with his cigar. He got angry and threw a-

_Knock, Knock._

What was it about sudden awakenings that cause you to lose the memory of the dream you just had?

_Knock, Knock!_

"Wha, What?" Iruka went through his mental day planner, trying to think of all the things that could wake him up at three in the morning.

A blond head poked through the door.

"Naruto...?" Iruka was becoming less groggy.

"Iruka-sensei!" Naruto closed the door.

"...Why are you here?" Iruka asked.

"Well, I had a bad dream." Naruto ducked his head, obviously ashamed.

"...Naruto, How old are you?" Iruka raised an eyebrow.

"…Twelve, but I'll be thirte-"

Iruka cut him off, "Exactly. Soon, you'll be a teenager. Do teenagers run and wake up people when they have scary dreams? Do _ninjas_ do that?"

"No, but..." Naruto grew quiet as he visibly shrunk, "I had _that_ dream again..."

Iruka was quiet.

"The one where the Kyuubi gets lose," Naruto sat down on the wooden floor, "And I kill everyone." The last three words where but a whisper.

Iruka knew this dream. It was a constant fear in Naruto's heart ever since Mizuki had told Naruto what he was.

A demon.

"Alright." In the end, Iruka was a softie, "You wait here, I'll get something to eat from the fridge, okay?"

"Get me some ramen!"

"…not this late at night, you'll get sick, How about some-"

"Ramen?"

"No, some, uh,"

"Ramen."

"Sobayaki! Okay!"

"Sobayaki…Fine."

Naruto didn't point out the fact that sobayaki was about as unhealthy as ramen, he was tired.

* * *

Iruka walked down the main hallway. He lived in an apartment for Shinobi, who had, at one time, served the leaf. The more missions you went on, the less rent you had to pay, so Iruka's room was practically free.

The downside was that every floor shared one kitchen and two refrigerators.

"Oi."

"Ah! Ch-ch-cha?" Iruka fell backwards. (AN: If you have seen the Bleach fansubs, Ichigo and Ganju scream like that all the time. That was what I was going for. It really _is_ funny how they yell.)

Sitting, quite patiently, right next to the refrigerator was Uchiha Sasuke.

"What're you doing here?" Iruka asked.

"Avoiding sleep." Iruka couldn't tell if Sasuke was being honest or repellent.

"Well, get back to sleep, I know for a fact that Kakashi has some kind of mission for you tomorrow." Iruka nodded and started to fish through the refrigerator.

"Did Naruto have _that_ dream again?" Sasuke asked.

"What're you talking about?" Iruka had been asked by Naruto not to tell people about his dreams.

"His dream where he kills me?" Sasuke looked up at Iruka.

"What?"

"I've been in missions where we had to sleep in the same house." Sasuke's glance was piercing, "He woke up screaming. He woke _me_ up. He wouldn't talk to me. He cradled away and couldn't look at me for the whole next day."

Iruka just stared at him.

"I figured he had a dream where he killed me." Sasuke handed Iruka a small plastic box.

Iruka looked down at the box. Iruka was a Chunin, He knew how to tell if a Ninja used a simple Disappear trick. The attack was simple, it wasn't even an attack, but a defensive maneuver. Whatever the fact, Sasuke was visibly gone when Iruka looked up from the small plastic box.

The box filled with Sobayaki.

* * *

Why don't I hate Sasuke? Why is he one of my favorite characters? I _shoul_d hate him. I should be a Sasuke basher. Maybe it's because his hair is like Hiei. And because he is about as tall as Hiei. Yeah. It's Hiei.

_**Review or Sasuke will give you a little plastic Box, too! But, oh, no, It won't be filled with food!**_


	5. He Haunts My Daydreams

**Hyourinmaru** Interesting, but I think that if you are willing to be that easily controlled for the price of power, it's probably a bad thing. Ehh… okay, sorry for the wait, here's the chapte**r!**

**DK-Joy**: Yay! I wanted to have a little bit more of Iruka's dream, but It got cut out wile I was looking over it.

Ohh... This is a little bit dark. If you don't like combining fire, small children and collapsed houses, skip to the next scene break.

Thank you.

And yes, that's Lee talking to himself. I wanted to imagine how those weird 'Challenges' he randomly comes up with are formed in that coconut-shaped head of his.

And I want a list of all the Naruto characters in relation to what they call eachother. I hate opting for _–san _when I don't know what in the heck they call each other.

* * *

"I'd like to hold her... Head under water." -Sublime, doin' time.

* * *

The girl looked about eight, but everyone in her village looked older then they where. They say tragedy ages you, and whoever they are, they where right. 

Right now the little girl was pinned under a collapsed table. She had given up yelling for help an hour ago. She thought she might be the only one left alive in her quiet little village.

A bit of light spilled through the dark room she was trapped in. an ambiguous silhouette walked in, and jiggled the light switch. Now, with this light, the girl could see the shambles her house was in. The roof had caved in, toppling a support beam onto it's side and crushing the table she had been hiding under.

What had she been hiding from?

Could she still remember?

Oh, yes, it had been those mysterious ninja in the black coats. But that was all behind her now. She was saved! She looked at her savior.

_Him!_

His eyes, red. Long, dark hair and a dark cloak covered his face. _Him._ Her father's killer. _Him!_ The dangerous one her mother warned her about. _Him!_ The one she was hiding from. _HIM!_

He looked at her like she was trash, and for the first time the girl could remember, she felt worthless. He looked out the doorway.

"Kisame," He said in complete monotone, "You said they where all dead."

"What, do we have a live one?" A shark-like monstrosity poked his head through a cracked window, "Well, then, just kill it."

The red-eyed one raised an eyebrow as to ask, 'are you serious?'.

"Whatever, then!" said the shark named Kisame, "Just set the place on fire like you said you where gonna!"

The red-eyed one turned to leave.

"Wait!" the girl cried, "At least," she choked back sobbing, "At least let me know the name of my killer!"

"Uchiha Itachi."

The girl gasped as flames licked around her.

* * *

A sent of jasmine flooded the calm, tranquil field. 

A narrow river bubbled through the field, making it look very beautiful. The inhabitants of that field had once called the river 'Yukiharu', because it often stayed very cold even in the summer and spring.

(_AN: Yuki means snow. Haru means springtime. Thus, snow-spring, cold like snow even in the spring._)

A foot non-caringly (_an: Not a word._) stepped into the lake. The body that the lone foot was connected to plopped down on the riverbank and started taking off it's shoes. Suprisingly the feet where blue and pointy. Blue and pointy...

"Kisame. What are you doing?" Uchiha Itachi raised an eyebrow.

"...Un? I'm restin'." Kisame nodded.

"Idiot."

"Heyyy...!"

The field smelled of jasmine because a jasmine farm had just been burnt down.

* * *

Rock Lee was hungry. 

_Why not eat ramen?_

Because Ramen will make me fat.

_If you throw a cup full of pebbles into the air and catch all the pebbles before they reach the ground, you will have worked off all that fat._

Lee started heating up his ramen.

There was a knocking at the door.

Lee wondered who would be outside in this rain. He opened the door, cooking spoon still in hand, and in stepped a very wet, very cold Neji.

(AN: Conversation topics, anyone?)

"N-neji-san?" Lee used the spoon to direct his friend to a chair.

"Lee-san, c-can I stay here intill it stops raining?" Neji, a few seconds later when he had sat down and changed into something dry, and, because it was Lee's, green, said.

"Locked out again, huh?" Lee emptied the last of the ramen from the serving pot into Neji's bowl.

"...Yeah."

"Well, you're always welcome at The Beautiful Green Beast of Konohagakure's home!" Lee shined with unnatural pride as he initiated the good-guy pose.

"…Great."

* * *

His name was Uchiha Sasuke. He haunted Itachi's dreams. His face at that one moment, asking 'why?'. His fear of finding his parents dead. 

He had grown up into a strong and beautiful young boy. The last part of Itachi's brotherly pride had swelled when he had seen his twelve-year-old brother at last, for the first time. That brotherly essence was then finally put to death when Sasuke viciously attacked his older brother, but who could blame him? It was what Itachi had wanted, anyway.

Sasuke had once asked a surprising question, on that night, so many years ago, when it had all fallen apart.

He had asked, "Why didn't you kill me?".

Itachi never answered that question.

"Yo, Itachi!" Kisame waved to his partner, "You're spacin' out again!"

The pregnant silences that where Itachi's had many meanings. This one meant, 'Patronize me again and I will smite you.'

Kisame continued to walk.

_I didn't kill you because..._

Itachi made no effort to catch up with him.

_...I wanted you to do something for me._

Kisame pointed to the east, their next destination.

_I wanted..._

The shark looked back at Itachi.

_...so badly for you to grow strong,_

Itachi nodded sharply.

_...And kill me..._

Kisame disappeared.

_...for my sins._

And then Itachi was gone, leaving a tranquil field with a burning village in the middle of it.

* * *

Neji had long since fallen asleep, like he always did when he was locked out, in his chair. Lee was getting ready to go to bed when he heard a rapping at his door. 

Lee really didn't know who it could be, but he opened the door anyway, being the hospitable Green Beast that he was.

The Hyuuga heir stood in his doorway, sopping wet, with a pink umbrella at her side.

"H-hello." Hinata said.

* * *

Whoooo…

Cliffies.

Yessir, the plot starts here. Tell me what you think.

**_REVIEW OR LEE WILL FEED YOU _**poisoned **_RAMEN!_**


	6. The Rain Gets Worse

This chapter is as is. Don't know what that means, huh? well, it means that it has not, in any way been edited for spelling. why? because I'm currently using a computer that has no spell check. Sorry. In about three or four days, I'll get a computer that** does** have spell check, but intill then, you'll have to bear with me. If this kind of stuff really annoys you, come back when this message isn't here. That means that I've gotten my spell-checking computer, and I've fixed this mess.

* * *

Only one reveiw, huh? I can live with that. I'm not angry. I'll just reply to **Hyorinmaru**, the only reveiwer!

So, origionaly it was only going to have no plot, but I got an idea. This chapter pretty much ends the plot, and I'll go back to one-shots. Yeah... Kill that fly! Kill that fly dead!

* * *

"I believe in equality for everyone, except reporters and photographers." -Mahatma Gandhi

* * *

Sasuke couldn't sleep. It was his insomnia. Not chronic insomnia, but insomnia. Sasuke couln't sleep. It was a feeling that, if sasuke where to even lay in his bed, he would have that nightmare again. The one about his brother.

If there was a premonition of a doubt that he could sleep, he would. A tired ninja was dangerous to himself. But a screaming ninja was worse. A fearfull, screaming wreck.

And so, Sasuke sat on top of his house, the only house to get electricity in the Uchiha corner of Konoha. The only living human for three square miles. The rain pelted Sasuke's umbrella.

It was bad to have nightmares about _him_ at when you know you're _that_ alone.

* * *

"H-hello, Lee-san." Hinata, cold and wet to the core from the rainstorm outside, said, "I-is Neji-nii-san here?"

Lee was suprised, "y-yes."

"Could I t-talk to him?" Hinata asked.

"I'm sure you could..." Lee took her umbrella, "But he's asleep."

"Oh." She shrugged, "Well, I'll go."

"No, It's still raining. Come inside intill it stops."

"K-kiba-kun is waiting for me..."

"He can wait."

Hinata nodded. She needed to speak with her cousin, "I'll go tell him."

* * *

Kakashi was asleep. Or at least, he sure looked like he was asleep. Why would a ninja pantamime narcolepsy?

Kurenai walked up to Kakashi with a pile of papers in her arms. Iruka, sitting next to Kakashi at the table, shook his head, "what work can he do asleep?"

"True." Kurenai nodded. She then, unexpectedly kicked Kakashi. He didn't move, "Maybe he's dead."

Iruka shrugged, "Maybe." He grabbed a few of the papers. Kurenai sat down.

"Did 'ya read the reports?" Kurenai talked wile doing her paperwork.

"Yup." Iruka nodded, "The Inoyuki Jasmine feilds got burnt down."

"They think Akatsuki did it."

"Why? A bunch of bandits coulda done it." Kurenai shrugged.

"Inoyuki was the last place the kyuubi was sighted before..." The sprials being doodled on Iruka's paper finished his sentance.

"Eh? What good would that do?" Kurenai filled in another blank on her paper.

"We don't know." Iruka finished his first page of paperwork, and started piling it on kakashi's head, "We _do_ know that the Akatsuki are interested in the kyuubi, though."

"Well, _That's_ enough to base an accusation." Kurenai said, sarcasticly.

Iruka chuckled and nodded. Kakashi just snored.

* * *

"Mmm..." Was all Itachi said. Hitting the exact note as the cold, rainy wind, he continued to hum.

"Hey, eh?" Kisame nodded. This was their own language. A series of grunts and nodds. It was why they where partners.

Itachi smiled, nodding.

Konoha never looked so small.

* * *

Sasuke stared to cough, like he was being choked. He sputtered for air, and in the process, dropped his umbrella.

Kakashi was awake. Scattering the many papers resting on his head, he rose quickly. _'Chakra,'_ his mind was screaming, _'Uchiha chakra. And not Sasuke's either.'_

"Oh," Iruka smiled, "So you're awake. You can help us with this paperwork, then?"

"Yeah," Kurenai handed Kakashi a pencil, "Do your share!" She smiled.

"No." Was all Kakashi said, and he was gone.

* * *

"I'm awake." Said Neji, stepping into the hallway. When he say Hinata, he shot Lee a questioning look. Lee shot back with a strong 'It itsn't me. I'm innocent' look. Lee was good at that.

"Neji-nii-san," Hinata smiled, "Can I talk to you."

Neji paled. Now was not the time! "Yes, Hinata-sama." He said.

When Lee excused himself, Hinata began to speak.

"I a-am deeply sorry for the idiotic actions of my t-teammate," Hinata mumbled, repeating exactly what Lee had had said he would have told Neji if he was in Hinata's shoes, "It will not happen again, I-"

"Hinata-sama." Neji interjected, bowing deeply "This is not your fault, nor Inuzuka's. I am..." Neji paused.

Hinata now found the time to speak, "I do not know w-why Kiba-kun attacked you. He said... h-he didn't say anything." Hinata sniffled, "So, i-it is no one's fault b-but his. A-and knowing him, h-he isn't g-going to appologize."

Neji smiled, "Well, then, It doesn't matter. Let's just pretend this whole episode never happened."

"Y-yes, Neji-nii-san, let's." She nodded vigorously.

Hinata left, and Neji felt strangely calm.

* * *

Itachi switched, stairing pointedly at the inner walls. It was that kakashi bastart. He signaled his partner.

Kisame, seeing the signal, dissapeared. Itachi nodded and said, "Goodbye, little brother." before spiriting away.

* * *

Ahhh! That was hard to write. I think I could have done better...

_**Reveiw and Hinata will make you a bento box! mmm... Bento...**_


End file.
